Good Brands Build Their Communities. But Great Brands…

Many marketers are talking about organic reach on Facebook decreasing rapidly. It seems no one realizes that organic reach has been low – under 20% – for

well over a year. But as reach does continue to drop, it’s time to grow your community before it’s too late and there’s no organic content seen again. Or perhaps I should say it’s time to become part of your customer’s community.

Good brands grow their communities. Great brands become part of their customers’ communities.

This is going to take a three-step process that will rely on your community as well as some ad dollars. It will also require the best, most engaging content you’ve ever created!

Step 1: Create engaging content that people want to share

What do people want to share? Marketing messages? Flashy offers?

No. It must be something that makes them look cool / smart / sexy to their friends. You must create something that will give consumers the dopamine hit they crave each time they share a post.

Step 2: Pay for ads with that terrific content

What are you prepared to do? I hope the answer is spend a buck or two on Facebook ads. It’s time to see Facebook as an advertising channel, not a free news service. Mr. Zuckerberg, you created the most intersting communications channel since television. Here’s your dollar.

The good news is that it really only takes a dollar (or a few dollars) to be in the game. Facebook ads are really cheap right now considering the reach you can get versus TV, newspapers, or even email marketing.

What are you prepared to do?!?All of this “new” Facebook work is going to take a bit of courage, faith, and maybe some of the Chicago way.

Step 3: This is the easy one…and it’s out of your hands.

Remember in Step 1 where I said you had to create the best, most engaging content ever? This is where it pays off. Your fans and their friends who saw the ads and posts will share them.

A typical overly commercial, online-banner-ad-looking piece of junk will get ignored just like TV commercials and banner ads do now!